The latest Federation of Master Builders State of Trade Survey for Q1 2016 highlights growing problems with recruiting workers.

But the market is still booming with two thirds of firms expecting workloads to rise further this year.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “More than half of small construction firms are predicting that wages and salaries will increase over the coming six months.

“Given that brickies are already able to command wages of up to £60,000 per year in London and around £45,000 a year in the North of England, it’s clear that the skills squeeze is starting to push up costs for construction SMEs.

“A whopping 55% of small building firms are currently reporting difficulties hiring bricklayers, which makes these tradespeople the most in-demand of all construction workers.

“The results for the first three months of this year show consistent growth among small construction firms in almost all parts of the UK.

“What’s more, despite evidence of the EU referendum causing some uncertainty within the business community, more than two-thirds of firms expect their workloads to increase over the coming three months.

“These results are heartening but skills shortages, and the knock-on effect on wages and salaries, remains a major cause for concern.”

Berry added: “We need tens of thousands of new and returning construction workers to pick up the slack, or this growth among construction SMEs could so easily unravel.”